 Hello, and welcome to the September edition of fostering news.
As the school holidays come to an end, we hope here you have managed to do some exciting activities during the summer months and the good old English weather has not spoilt your plans too much as the glorious sunny days this year have been few and far between. With the ending of the summer months also comes the run up to buying all those essentials for the start of the new school term, multi coloured pens no doubt being bought in abundance as well as the good old school uniform. After all the running about for these essentials, you may be asking when the October holiday is!
Well, it’s a final goodbye to Penny and Charlotte as we wish them both luck in their new adventures and say a final thank you for all their hard work. They will be missed.
The team will be supported by Clair and Sally, who will be around to help with anything you may need. Recruitment is underway, so the newsletter will keep you posted on who will be joining the team.
Sons and Daughters Appreciation Day
This year’s Sons and Daughters appreciation day took place on the 23 August at the Mill Adventure Base.
Given summer has had its fair share of rain, it was a huge relief when the sprinkles of rain in the morning went away very quickly and the sunshine came out!
The morning kicked off with climbing activities along with some good-natured competitiveness on who could reach the top of the very high climbing wall with staff and children going neck and neck to be the first to reach the top and who could use their problem-solving skills to navigate around the tyres on the gladiator challenge. And then there was the zip wire activity and judging by the laughter for those of us on the ground, we could hear this was another hit.
After all the excitement of the morning there was a relaxing packed lunch outside in the sunshine, to re-charge with a dab of illustrative feedback on what activities the children had enjoyed so far. Then it was off for an afternoon of water-based activity of Katakanu with two teams led by Rochelle and Alleyshia around the reservoir with some friendly splashing and more good-natured competitiveness.
A big thank you for all those that took part in the day it was appreciated, and it seemed to be a success as it was enjoyed by both children and staff alike. Whether or not you could attend the day though a big thank you to all our sons and daughters of our fostering households as you all play such an important role in providing a supportive and caring environment.
I will leave you with a quote from one of the children who attended the day as here in the recruitment and assessment team I don’t think we could put it any better “I love fostering”.
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Fostering Conference - 4 October 2023
Hopefully you are all aware, but we all have our fostering conference to look forward to next month.
Thank you to those that have confirmed or declined the invitation so far, however if it is still on your list of things to do, please speak to your fostering support officer as soon as possible. Remember to include any dietary or accessibility requirements.
Don’t forget the conference also counts towards your 20 hours of training per year. It is also a great way to network, and discuss all things fostering by sharing your experiences, skills, and knowledge. Most importantly, it is a time to take a moment to reflect on the excellent work you all do to support our young people.
See you there 😊
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From the training team
There are two new training events for approved foster carers. Both are available now to book now on My Learning, My Career.
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Accessing support when your supervising social worker is not available
If your supervising social worker is unavailable or not at work, you can contact our countywide fostering duty number 0115 8546477 or email us at fosteringduty.cw@nottscc.gov.uk. If this number is busy, you may receive a prompt to leave a voicemail. We encourage you to do this, so a duty worker can contact you back.
The out of hours fostering helpline is 0800 085899. This is available for carers to access 6pm - 10pm on weekdays and 10am - 10pm on weekends. This service is available for any carers who need advice, may be struggling, or need some support with a child they may be caring for.
The Emergency Duty Team or EDT can be reached on 0300 456 456. This is a separate service in case of an emergency or when there are safeguarding concerns that need to be shared outside of core working hours.
If you are unsure of where to find support, please discuss further with your supervising social worker.
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A life in fostering
We'd like to share this beautiful tribute to Dorothy, a former foster carer with us.
Dorothy Bower, 1930 - 2023
As I sit down and write this, there are so many memories, good, and bad. Auntie was always there and available. When I got a call a few weeks ago to go and see her, I knew it would be the last time and just sat and recalled so many memories. Our interaction was brief, we held hands and I marvelled at a frail old lady who has meant so much to so many.
In the late 60s Dorothy and Denis Bower and their two sons became a fostering family from their small tied cottage on the Ranby estate near Retford. Denis an experience farm labourer and his wife adding three further boys to their clan.
Several years later, a job move found them in Creswell, they added me to their foster family in late 1975.
With one of their boys at university the other followed his father into farming. Fostering became a huge part of daily life for a Dorothy and her four extra boys.
A diagnosis of lung cancer took Denis away, after a short illness, leaving Dorothy with four foster children and Andrew to support. The strength of character and will to help the young people she had in her care was, on reflection, selfless and showed tremendous courage.
As the years went by Dorothy continued to work at the Post Office in Victoria Square Worksop until she retired. She was often seen riding her moped, taking the daily commute from Killamarsh to Worksop come rain or shine.
Throughout all of this she gave her time, her house always open to anyone who needed help or just a chat. She would always have a quip or sharp remark for the many teenagers that found their way to her door.
Her boys all grew up and found partners to share their lives with, she continued to maintain contact a long time after her foster responsibilities had ended, and cherished the role of “Nan”. Some called her nan or mum, others Mrs Bower, to my friends and I she was and will always be “Auntie”.
RIP
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